Israel's nuclear whistleblower to wed American

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Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu is planning to marry an American woman, the bishop who will conduct the ceremony said yesterday.

Bishop Riah Abu Al-Assal, the top cleric at the Anglican church where Mr Vanunu has been living since he was released from prison in April, told The Associated Press that Mr Vanunu and his expectant bride asked for his blessing a few days ago.

Mr Vanunu, 50, a Moroccan-born Jew, converted to Christianity in the 1980s.

"They want to get married ... I encouraged them," Bishop Al-Assal said. "I think if the gentleman wants to live a normal life and have children, he can't wait until he is 80."

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, Ms Saint-Ogne refused to confirm the two were to be married.

Mr Vanunu was quoted as saying, "I am considering it."

Mr Vanunu served an 18-year sentence for espionage and treason for divulging information and pictures in 1986 about Israel's top secret nuclear reactor.

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The details, published in London's Sunday Times, led experts to conclude that Israel has the sixth-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, including hundreds of warheads.

Yediot published pictures of Ms Saint-Ogne, a blonde said to be in her 30s, walking and dining with Mr Vanunu in east Jerusalem. It gave no other details about her, and she couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Bishop Al-Assal said he would conduct the wedding ceremony, but that the couple had not set a date or decided where they will live. At the moment, they are "living in different rooms in the [church] guest house", he said.

Mr Vanunu, who is barred from leaving the country, has said he would like to move to the United States. Security restrictions also ban him from talking to the foreign media.

Ms Saint-Ogne was quoted by Yediot as saying her relationship with Mr Vanunu began through emails when he was released from prison, developed into telephone conversations and peaked when she first visited him in Jerusalem a few weeks ago.

"I was amazed by the man I met," she was quoted as saying. "After 18 years that were so difficult, there isn't a drop of bitterness in the man. He doesn't have the need to get revenge."

The interview was translated from English to Hebrew in Yediot and back to English by The Associated Press.

Ms Saint-Ogne said she wants Mr Vanunu to be able to "fulfil his dream" of leaving Israel and starting a new life abroad. "I will not leave here until that happens. I will not leave without him," she said.